caching recent files

caching recent files

[Rustom Mody]

I have been studying how to maintain recent files and am confused by
the available functionality.

recentf keeps recent files but not directories
file cache is not persistent -- so not clear what its use is.

So what is the recommended way of maintaining a readily available list
of files and dirs?

I guess there is filesets but I find that very hard to understand :-)

RE: caching recent files

[Drew Adams]

> I have been studying how to maintain recent files and am confused by
> the available functionality.
> 
> recentf keeps recent files but not directories
> file cache is not persistent -- so not clear what its use is.
> 
> So what is the recommended way of maintaining a readily available list
> of files and dirs? I guess there is filesets but I find that very
> hard to understand :-)

Do you want (1) just recent files, or do you want to create and save (2) an
arbitrary set of files and directories that you can return to later?

1. For recent files, I use recentf. I use `icicle-recent-file', actually, which
lets you complete against parts of the file names.

2. You can use Icicles to create and save named sets of files and dirs for later
use. See http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki/Icicles_-_Persistent_Completions.

Re: caching recent files

[Nikolaj Schumacher]

"Rustom Mody" <rustompmody@gmail.com> wrote:

> recentf [...] file cache is not persistent -- so not clear what its
> use is.

It is supposed to be persistent.  If `recentf-mode' is enabled, the list
will be written to `recentf-save-file' when emacs exits.

> So what is the recommended way of maintaining a readily available list
> of files and dirs?

Do you mean directories you visited via dired, or all directories in
which you've opened files?


regards,
Nikolaj Schumacher

Re: caching recent files

[Rustom Mody]

On Mon, Aug 18, 2008 at 9:36 PM, Nikolaj Schumacher <me@nschum.de> wrote:
> "Rustom Mody" <rustompmody@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> recentf [...] file cache is not persistent -- so not clear what its
>> use is.
>
> It is supposed to be persistent.  If `recentf-mode' is enabled, the list
> will be written to `recentf-save-file' when emacs exits.
Emacs info -> files -> file name cache (after all the functions)

The file name cache is not persistent: it is kept and maintained
only for the duration of the Emacs session.  You can view the contents
of the cache with the `file-cache-display' command.

>
>> So what is the recommended way of maintaining a readily available list
>> of files and dirs?
>
> Do you mean directories you visited via dired, or all directories in
> which you've opened files?

Either/both!
A 'project' is invariably associated with a directory. Any convenient
way of telling emacs of such 'projects' is fine.
>
>
> regards,
> Nikolaj Schumacher
>

Re: caching recent files

[Rustom Mody]

Thanks
Yeah Icicles is on my list of things to check out.  I figured that it
would have something related to this but I could not find it.
I then tried filesets and the fileset-cache became some 4M (!!) so I
guess I will try out icicles.
What should I start by reading?

On Mon, Aug 18, 2008 at 9:18 PM, Drew Adams <drew.adams@oracle.com> wrote:
>> I have been studying how to maintain recent files and am confused by
>> the available functionality.
>>
>> recentf keeps recent files but not directories
>> file cache is not persistent -- so not clear what its use is.
>>
>> So what is the recommended way of maintaining a readily available list
>> of files and dirs? I guess there is filesets but I find that very
>> hard to understand :-)
>
> Do you want (1) just recent files, or do you want to create and save (2) an
> arbitrary set of files and directories that you can return to later?
>
> 1. For recent files, I use recentf. I use `icicle-recent-file', actually, which
> lets you complete against parts of the file names.
>
> 2. You can use Icicles to create and save named sets of files and dirs for later
> use. See http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki/Icicles_-_Persistent_Completions.
>
>

RE: caching recent files

[Drew Adams]

> Yeah Icicles is on my list of things to check out.  I figured that it
> would have something related to this but I could not find it.
> I then tried filesets and the fileset-cache became some 4M (!!) so I
> guess I will try out icicles.
> What should I start by reading?

Overview:
http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki/Icicles_-_Nutshell_View

Overview if you are also new to Emacs (how Icicles can help learn Emacs):
http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki/EmacsNewbieWithIcicles

Project support:
http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki/Icicles_-_Support_for_Projects

Using persistant caches:
http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki/Icicles_-_Persistent_Completions

File and directory completion:
http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki/Icicles_-_File-Name_Completion_Tips